


They Say Boys Don't Cry

by Fallenangel87



Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alean - Freeform, Allerdrake, Alpha Bobby, Alpha Erik, Alpha Kitty, Alpha Logan, Alpha Piotr, Alpha Sabretooth, Alpha Scott, Beta Jean, Beta Mystique, Cynix, F/M, Halex, Iron Cat, M/M, Mpreg, Mysteto, Mystique is a good mom, Omega Alex, Omega John, Omega Remy, Omega Sean, Omega Toad, Sabrebit, Sabretoad - Freeform, Supportive Moms, Wombit, alpha Hank, mcsummers - Freeform, mention of abortion, mom mystique
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-29 22:29:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20089807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenangel87/pseuds/Fallenangel87
Summary: Returning to Xavier's school was hard enough John Allerdyce, but it's made even more difficult when he learns he's pregnant right before he goes back. The issue is that everyone believes Magneto is the child's father, but with his memory of the night being fuzzy at best, he can't really be sure if that's the truth. As pieces begin coming back to him, things get even more complicated than they were before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from lyrics in Sloane's Song.

Panic swelled in John’s chest as he sat on the cold tiles of his shower, the warm water spraying over him. It felt like it was all happening too fast, in fact, everything felt surreal to him. All of it felt like a dream and nothing more, and he hoped he was going to wake up at any minute to find out that this had all been a sick dream. To find out that the pregnancy tests that had tested positive weren’t real, that he was just dreaming or hallucinating, maybe. Even insanity felt like a fate better than this whole situation. He knew it was possible for him, considering he was an omega, of course. Anything curse of his own biology, he supposed. Mutant, omega, and now pregnant? His own body truly did hate him. No part of him had ever even entertained this as something that would be a problem for him. Children had never been an option for him, he had never considered having any pups of his own. Hell, he had never even had a boyfriend. Ever since he presented and people started suggesting his future with children, he swore that he would never be some alpha's bitch. He would never be the fat mother who had five kids to take care of, taking care of the house and acting like a sweet little homemaker. He had never known any alphas who wanted that with him either, but here he was, a child in his stomach and no clue what to do about that fact that was hitting him like a ton of bricks now. It made his throat feel full and his chest felt too tight for his body, he didn't feel like he couldn't breathe with all the thoughts racing in his mind. 

Now, it was a very real problem that John was faced with. He was surrounded by people who had done unspeakable things, they were criminals for Christ’s sake, how could he bring a child into all this? What would he do, raise it to be a criminal as well? They would spend their whole lives running. The baby would no doubt be born a mutant just like him and the baby’s father, he didn’t know if he could force that fate on a baby. Not with how he had always lived his own life, it had always been so hard for him, especially when he went through puberty. He could give his baby better than that, though, he would be accepting when his child started showing signs of mutation. If the baby didn’t, on some weird and off chance, he would accept them then too. No, he wouldn’t be the type of parent who would ever reject their child for something that they couldn’t change, he’d always be there.  The next issue would be money, of course. Criminals weren’t exactly rolling in money or resources to get anything they needed for a baby. He couldn’t foresee Sabretooth walking to buy baby food nor could he see Toad babysitting while he went himself. That just wouldn’t happen, he could be that real with himself. What other choice did he have, though? He couldn’t get rid of the creature growing inside of him, not when the baby needed him to take care of it. Though, he was still at a loss for what to do. He couldn’t give it to anyone else when it was born. Even if he felt comfortable taking it to Xavier to take into his school, he wasn’t sure he could do that. Not emotionally. He couldn’t give away his baby. It was his, it needed him and he knew that he needed to step up for his baby girl or boy. God, he wanted it to be a boy if he was being honest with himself. He felt like he could handle a baby boy a lot better. 

His thoughts were interrupted, though, by a loud knocking on the door of the bathroom. “You’re using all the hot water, fire fingers!” Victor growled from the other side of the door and John climbed gently to his own two feet, still feeling shaky, even though no new tears were rolling down his face. He called back a quick apology as he turned off the water, knowing better than to test Victor these days. The man had seemed to be getting more and more irritable lately. He supposed it was because Logan was back in his life. Logan hadn’t just come back to Victor, though, he had come back with an omega on his arm. Logan’s omega. They came with a daughter too, a little girl named Laura. John still shuddered when he thought about the day that Logan had introduced Remy to them, Victor had growled and threatened to put a pup of his own in Remy if the omega ever meant more to Logan than he did. It had seemed like Logan and Victor were going to murder one another, but both Mystique and Magneto had ushered John away, telling him simply to let them fight it out and they’d come around on their own. Sure enough, they had eventually stopped fighting after they had both been clawed and bitten up. Remy and John alike had spent nearly an hour patching them both up. It had only served to upset everyone and had done little else to solve their problems, Victor still openly checked out Remy and Logan was still very vocal about hating it whenever he did. 

John tried to keep his mind off of that and on his current problem, examining his stomach closely to see if he could see the bump already before he was wrapping a towel tightly around himself. He didn’t bother trying to dry off any, figuring Victor was already irritated enough as it was without waiting for John to dry himself down. Opening the door, he moved to push past the bulkier man, whimpering when his arm was grabbed and he was jerked back towards Victor as roughly as ever. The man was never gentle with anything. Defiantly, he tipped his head back to look up at Victor, staring into his eyes. He knew just how much he could get away with around the other man, just how much he could rattle his cage before the beast lunged at him. A little bit of snark wasn’t too much for Victor to handle, certainly not with how his brother acted, as long as he still thought John respected him as much as he ever did. Of course, John respected him a bit. The man got them most all of the food they ate and offered protection to them, but as a person? John was sickened by the very thought of Victor and it didn't help when the man raked his claws over his skin in a way that was just on the side of innocent in front of the others. It made the boy feel violated, though, the way Victor's hands raked over his body. 

“What have I told you about taking forever in the shower, you little bitch?” Victor growled, tugging his arm roughly. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say-” Suddenly, the man’s voice trailed off, his nostrils flaring slightly. His nose crinkled as he sniffed the air, glancing down between them at John’s stomach and the fire manipulator tightened his towel around himself defensively. Dark eyes narrowed at Victor, eyebrows furrowing as a grin broke across the man’s face, exposing teeth that were too long and too sharp for John’s comfort. He tried tugging his own arm away from Victor and the man actually released his arm, his eyes flicking from John’s stomach up to his face and then back down again. the look on the man's face felt absolutely predatory and John wished nothing more than to have it off of himself, or at least to have some clothes on while Victor looked at him like that. He didn't suppose Victor would look at him any differently even if he did have clothes on, though. Victor's gaze never faltered as one hand came up to press against his stomach gently and he squirmed beneath the clawed hand that settled there, but it didn't relent. It just rested there for a moment before Victor nodded as if something had been confirmed or connected inside of his twisted mind. 

“I’d say congratulations, fire fingers.” Victor laughed and pushed him aside gently, gentler than John had ever known the beast to do. Even with Toad, the man just shoved and pulled him around as he pleased. It wasn’t like Victor had ever had any consideration or gentlemanliness when it came to omegas, women, not even children. The man was a beast through and through, but a pregnant omega was the difference? John didn’t trust that for a minute. When the bathroom door slammed in his face, he chose to scurry off back towards his room to get dried off. He wasn’t up for waiting around to see what Victor’s smile or “kind words” were for. He felt like a child when he retreated back into his bedroom and locked the door safely, but it was called preservation and not cowardice anymore. No, now, it was just an omega protecting their young ones. For once, John was just acting like any normal omega would and he found a bit of solace in that. He had never felt like a normal kid, he had always been a mutant. When he had presented, he had never been a normal omega either. He had always rejected anything that suggested he was an omega if he was being honest, that made him want to puke. No, he had always tried to act more like an alpha. It had worked with some people and hadn't with other people, but it had always made him feel like a freak with people.

Even as he curled up in his bed, naked and still damp from his shower, he found a bit of comfort in knowing that his reactions were normal. As he drifted off to sleep there in the middle of the day, a blanket pulled up loosely around himself, he felt happy that he wasn’t quite so alone. The baby wasn’t even here yet and he was already feeling better knowing that he had it. Now, he had something to actually take care of. He had a reason to keep going and not just himself, he couldn’t give up. That was both terrifying and terrific, and he realized something in the split second between consciousness and sleep. He realized he needed to find out who the father of the child was. More importantly, though, he needed to get his baby and get away from his current crewmembers. He was going to raise his baby better. Boy or girl, mutant or human, his baby didn't deserve to be raised in some rathole with people who would throw their own friends underneath the bus if it meant they would get off easy for something. It deserved better than Toad with his prying tongue that he could never seem to keep to himself, it deserved better than Victor's sadistic ways of treating others. Hell, Logan couldn't even remember his own name some days and Remy would be of no help, not with the way he was always curling himself over his own pup. Magneto and Mystique, maybe, but he couldn't deal with the others. He had to figure something out. For _his_ baby. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All things come out in the end and the Brotherhood learns about the new member of their team that is on the way, much like all bad news, it's delivered by the worst of messengers.

It wasn’t until dinnertime came around that John woke back up, awoken by a knock on his door. A much gentler knock than the one that had interrupted his shower and an even softer voice following it, Mystique calling him down to their dining area to eat. Either she had gone out to get dinner for them all or Toad had tried his hand at cooking again. He was really hoping for the former one, Toad sucked at cooking anything, he could even find a way to burn cereal. Besides, with his stomach feeling the way it did, he wasn’t sure he could handle most things. Climbing to his feet, he stretched out and made his way to the door, opening it with a smile. That was one of the things he loved about Mystique, she always waited for him. In her blue form, she smiled at him when he finally emerged from his room, his hair messy from where it had dried haphazardly and his eyes tired even though he had just woken up from a nap. 

“How are you doing, darling?” She hummed to John, stroking her fingers through her hair in an attempt to fix a bit of the mess there. A small smile appeared on her face when John pressed himself closer, his arms wrapping around her. He really just needed to feel some human contact. The human contact that wasn’t from Victor and didn’t leave him more frightened than he was before. He smiled against her ridged shoulder when her arms tightened around him. Being held by Mystique was like something he had never felt before. When she had her arms around him, he felt safe, like someone actually cared for him. He supposed that this was what his mother was supposed to do for him when he was growing up. That wasn’t the case when he was a child, but she was there for him now and he was grateful for that. 

“Good. Victor was just giving me a hard time in the bathroom for using all the hot water. Again.” John laughed softly once he pulled back, but even he could tell that there was no humor in his voice. He hoped that it wasn’t obvious enough to raise any questions for her. She must have gotten the impression that he didn’t want to talk about why he seemed so down because she just offered him a smile right back and nodded at him. Her hand moved from his hair to the back of his neck, just rubbing it gently as she stared at him with yellow eyes. Quickly, he had to look away because those eyes always seemed to be able to stare directly into your soul, even if you didn’t want her to and he was afraid he would break under her gaze if he stared for too long now. 

“Well, he just doesn’t like getting cold water in his fur. You know how particular he gets about it at times, he’s worse than any girl that I’ve ever known.” Mystique let a warm laugh rumbled out of her chest, urging him towards the kitchen. John smiled and let himself be led towards the dining room, taking her hand and clinging onto it like it was a life preserver. When he stepped into the kitchen, he looked around at everyone crowded around the table with a few scattered fast food bags that had already been rummaged around in. John was a bit relieved to see that Toad’s cooking wasn’t on the table before them, he couldn’t even bring himself to be bothered by the fact that all the good food was probably already taken. He supposed he could always cozy up to Victor tonight and the man would probably share his fries with him if he did so. Carefully, he settled down in between Toad and Victor. He worried the pair were in another one of their fights, considering the chair in between them was empty. Usually, Toad would be curled up around Victor, eating off his plate like he was a highschooler. John’s eyes followed Mystique as she sat down next to Magneto, smiling softly when his hand found her thigh. 

“Pyro. Good to see you awake before midnight for a change.” Magneto hummed to him, smiling at him. The words didn’t irritate John like they usually would if Victor or even Toad had said them. Magneto was good to him. Ever since he had joined the Brotherhood, he had felt more at home than he ever had with anyone else. Except maybe for when he was with Xavier. The professor had been good with him most of the time, he had always been generous and kind to him, he genuinely tried to help him. Still, the Brotherhood made him feel like he had a family with them, they were all close. Even Victor fit in with them, even Toad. They all had their place in the home, but John still didn’t feel whole with them. He blamed it on the fact that he was pregnant, it was probably just his hormones all out of whack, so he ignored that.

“I was awake earlier today, I even got a shower this morning, thank you very much.” John chuckled out to him, shaking his head as he snatched one of the bags off of the table. He pulled it closer to himself, digging around in the bag to see what was left, pulling out a container of half-empty chicken nuggets. He bit into one and let his own hand find Victor’s thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze as he looked over at the beast of a man. Victor rolled his eyes and pushed a box of fries closer to the boy, stroking his nails up John’s wrist gently. John pulled the fries to him happily and raised his eyebrow at how easy it was with the man, a bit confused as Victor smiled at him, though he just ate a few fries.

“I figured you needed them now. Since you’re eating for two now and all.” Victor rumbled out happily to him, acting as though he was completely innocent and kind in his words. John’s eyes widened at the words and he could feel the tone in the room shift entirely, everyone looking at him and Victor now. His mouth struggled to catch up with his mind, his thoughts racing as he tried to find the right words to tell them all as they stared at him expectantly. They were clearly waiting for him to offer some explanation for Victor’s words and he wished that he could tell them all that it was a lie, but he just nodded his head a bit at the words, looking at his lap. 

“John...Is this true?” Mystique asked softly, getting up from where she was seated next to the man who didn’t look all that surprised. Though, he supposed nothing would truly surprise Magneto after all that he had lived through by now. John’s eyes followed Mystique as she moved to her side, kneeling down so she could look up into his eyes, her hand rested on his knee. With a tentative nod, he felt like his world crashing down around him as he admitted it to her. He knew he would have to tell them all at some point, but Victor had just taken that away from him. The least he could do was be honest with the only woman who had ever treated him well in his entire life. 

“Okay. Get up, honey. Let’s go, I need to talk to you privately.” She sighed out, taking both of his hands and climbing up to her feet to drag him upwards with her. John nodded again as though it was the only thing he could do and went with her, allowing himself to be led out of the kitchen. He could feel all the eyes on him and his cheeks burned as he heard Toad croaking out a laugh at him. Of course, John tried to ignore it, but he still felt tears pricking in his eyes. There was an unshakable feeling of having disappointed Mystique and the others were judging him. The look on Magneto’s face had hurt him too, whether it was intentional or not, the look that he wasn’t surprised and as he had always expected this from John. He felt like he was going to puke, but he was trying his best to keep it inside as he followed Mystique into her bedroom.

“I’m sorry.” John choked out to her as soon as her door was shut and locked, giving them the illusion of being alone, even though he knew Magneto could get in if he wanted to. Hell, even Victor could if he really wanted to. Mystique was shaking her head at him, pushing him back gently to sit him down on the edge of the bed. Surprisingly, her fingers stroked over his hair, pushing it back away from his face. His chest was tight as she did this, though he didn’t pull away from her, he just let her keep pushing her fingers through his hair as she stared down at him. 

“It’s okay, honey, you don’t need to apologize for any of this. How far along are you? Do you know?” Mystique asked him softly like he was going to break if she spoke any louder than that. A part of John wanted to hate it and a part of John felt comforted by her soft tone because it made him feel like things were actually going to be okay. Instead, all he managed was a small shake of his head. He really didn’t have a clue how far along he was now, but he hadn’t really figured it mattered. From her sigh of response, he figured it must have mattered at least a little bit. 

“I wasn’t feeling good these past few days, so I started looking into symptoms and...It recommended that I just buy a few tests and so I did. Then I bought at least five more tests just to make sure, I’m still not sure. I mean. This can’t be real, you know?” John admitted to her, feeling as though he could tell her everything without being judged for it. She gave him a small nod and stroked his hair down against his head a bit slower, eyes sympathetic as she looked at him. Her thumb moved to his cheek, brushing away the tears that he hadn’t even known had escaped his eyes yet. His own hands came up to rub his eyes roughly, only succeeding in making them redder than they had been before, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that. 

“I know how it can feel at first, but you’re absolutely sure, right? Have you slept with anyone recently?” At the question, John felt himself getting sick again, barely keeping it together and keeping himself from throwing up all over her shoes. He knew the next question would be about who he had slept with and that was information he just couldn’t give to her. The memory was as broken as Logan’s were on his “bad days” as Victor called them. He hated the feeling that he couldn’t remember everything about that day, about that night. Pieces of it were there, of course, but it was mainly just drinking. A lot of drinks. He couldn’t help but think it was pretty fucked up that the thing he could remember most was how much the whiskey burned. 

“I’m sure about this, Mystique, and it terrifies me. Do I have to get rid of it?” He asked her quietly, his eyes sad as he looked up at her, even more frightened about what her answer might be. She seemed to consider things for a moment before she shook her head at him. His eyebrows furrowed a bit at her answer, honestly surprised by it. Even if it wasn’t for her interest, he figured bringing another mouth to feed to their group wouldn’t do anyone any favors. He knew that if she answered one way that Magneto wouldn’t say no to her. She may have been a beta and he may have been an alpha, but John couldn’t remember a single time that she hadn’t gotten what she wanted with him. Magneto was a good mate to her, better than most alphas, John had to admit.

“Whatever you choose with this, John, I’ll be here for you. You do need to start considering what you want to do, though. This is a very time-sensitive thing, you know? But if you do decide to keep the baby then I know how you feel and I’ll do everything I can to help you.” Her words were spoken with such confidence and assurance in her tone, it made him think she really knew what she was doing. Of course, she could promise he could keep the baby if he wanted because there was no way Magneto would argue with her over something like this and neither Toad nor Sabretooth would step up to try and change her mind. They knew better than to test Mystique and John had to admit that they had wits about them, even if they had little else. Still, her words seemed too understanding and he couldn’t help the curious tilt of his head as he looked up at her. 

“How do you know so much about this, ‘Stique?” He pressed with no judgment in his voice. He had always thought it would be messed up if he judged her for her choices or her life when he had never felt judged in her presence. His genuine curiosity was getting the better of him now, though. Her eyes flicked away from him for a moment, but he kept his own eyes fixed on her golden ones, patiently waiting for whenever she was ready to answer him. Even if she chose to ignore his question entirely, he would understand that too. He didn’t have to continue being curious because she gave him a soft smile as she looked down at him with sad eyes, pain bright in the yellow there. 

“Because I had a son with my last mate, so I know what it feels like.” She admitted to him and his own eyes widened. Son? Last mate? John hadn’t been aware that she had either of those things. As naive as it may be, he had assumed that Magneto and Mystique had just always been together. They treated each other as though they had been mates for years and maybe they had been, depending on how old her son was. Hell, was her son his own age maybe? Was that why she treated him like a son? Because she wasn’t able to be around her own? Why couldn’t she be with him? Why wasn’t he there? What happened to her old mate for that matter? He had so many questions and chose to ask none of them, he didn’t want to bombard her with inquiries about her past. Not when it clearly pained her to admit this much already. 

“I want to keep the baby,” John told her instead of asking her any of the questions racing around in his mind. It was clearly the right choice because she smiled with a hint of appreciation in her expression, though mostly it was of relief. John guessed that she was secretly hoping he would want to keep the baby, even though he knew also that she would be true to her words no matter what his choice was. Still, it felt more than nice when she was leaning down to press a tender kiss to his right cheek. As her hands continued petting over his hair in hopes of comforting him, he breathed out a sigh of relief of his own. For the first time all day, for the first time all week for that matter, he felt like things were truly going to be okay for him. Sure, he didn’t have all the answers or even a clear plan of what he was going to do. For the first time, though, now he felt like he wasn’t going to have to face it all alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While John is coming to terms with his pregnancy, Alex and Hank find themselves with a new realization of their own to come to terms with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised that this chapter will deal with a lot of hate for omegas who like other omegas and alphas who like other alphas (inspired heavily by anti-gay arguments), so proceed with caution if that's something that makes you uncomfortable. Just know that all the characters' words are because of personal misunderstanding/being uninformed and not due to legitimate intolerance.

It was the trail of light shining in his eyes that woke Alex up in the morning, momentarily blinding him before his eyes blinked and adjusted to the light. He wasn’t used to so much light pouring into his room in the morning, not since he had convinced the professor to buy him some curtains to block out the light so he could sleep in late. After a short moment, Alex realized that he wasn’t used to so much light pouring into his own room because he wasn’t in his own room. His eyes flicked around the room for a short moment before they fell to the warm figure next to him. Next to him was Hank McCoy. Alex sighed softly as he laid himself back down onto the bed, a hand pressed over his forehead as his head throbbed. Of course, he was laid next to Hank McCoy. The night before seemed to play out like a movie in his head, Hank’s hands were all over him and his own hands were curled tightly into the man’s blue fur. It had all been building up to that between them if he was being honest with himself. Ever since they had first met years ago, tension had been rising between them and it finally broke the night prior, pushing them both together. 

Alex was sure that he would freak out over this later when things began to fully set in. He was sure he would be freaking out over the fact that he had finally slept with the man he had been crushing on ever since he was recruited by Charles and Erik years prior. Instead, he curled closer to Hank’s back, snuggling against him. Hank was warm and firm like everything Alex had ever imagined he would be, but he had been so rough with him last night. Bruises and bites covered pale skin, leaving his body feeling sore like his first week going through basic training. It all burned in the best of ways and left him feeling satisfied with the night before, a dull hope in his chest that they could do it again and that Hank didn’t want it to be just a one-time thing. Alex himself certainly wanted to repeat the night, wanting to feel Hank’s teeth dragging along his jaw again as he clung to the older man like he would disappear if he let go. Hank hadn’t seemed to mind how tightly Alex was holding onto him in the moment, not when he was pulling the smaller man as close as he could get him. So, Alex simply began to cling to Hank now, pressing against his back.

What were only a few minutes felt like hours to Alex before Hank was finally stirring awake himself, letting out a soft yawn as his legs stretched out. Alex’s grip tightened a bit back around his middle and he smiled against Hank’s back, but he couldn’t keep his nerves down entirely. He knew they would probably have to talk about what happened between them last night and that scared him more than a little bit because he really did like Hank. He didn’t want this all to only be a one-time thing, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure if he could muster up enough courage to ask for it not to be if Hank wanted his opinions on it first. Feelings had definitely never been his strong suit and certainly not when it came to Hank, the simple fact was that Hank made him feel things that he never had before and that knowledge alone terrified him. Though, he pushed those confusing and mildly panic-inducing thoughts aside in favor of pressing a soft kiss to a bare blue shoulder, moving to rest his chin on it once he was done kissing. 

“Good morning, Alex. Did you sleep well?” Hank murmured to him, not turning to face the younger man, but a clawed hand moved to rest over the top of Alex’s arms. This earned a brighter smile from Alex, knowing that Hank remembered enough of the night to know that it was him laid next to him. He took Hank’s hand in his own, squeezing it gently as he closed his eyes again, relaxing a bit. Hank’s voice was calm and steady, he wasn’t freaking out about this, which helped encourage Alex’s own panic to push its way back down into his chest.

“Better than I have in years, bozo.” Alex chuckled out the fond nickname. It was something that had started out as him being an asshole because he was confused by his feelings for the dorky scientist but had become a name that was special to him and even Hank had stopped going red or growling at him when he used it. It left a familiar smile plastered across his own face as he stroked his thumb over Hank’s inhuman knuckles gently. Luckily, the words earned a soft laugh from Hank as well. “What about you, big guy? Did you sleep well?” Alex asked, tilting his head against him. 

Hank turned over gently, trying his best to not disturb where Alex’s arms were hooked around him. “I slept really well, but I guess that happens when someone tires you out so much.” Hank hummed to Alex, raising an eyebrow at the blonde-haired man. A light pink tinted the younger mutant’s cheeks, though his smile only brightened. “Though, I can’t say the party last night was too great, what with Sean looking at me like he was.” Hank yawned again, stretching his long arms up this time before settling them around Alex’s shoulders to hold onto him as well, keeping his grip loose around the man. Alex’s eyebrows furrowed tightly at the words, eyes looking into Hank’s. Despite the older mutant laughing, Alex wasn’t.

“What do you mean by that? How was Sean looking at you?” Alex asked him quietly, confusion clear in his voice as he leaned up a bit to stare at Hank fully. Hank let out an unamused scoff, almost condescending as he stared at Alex like he was entirely oblivious. Alex didn’t remember  _ everything  _ from the night before, of course, he hadn’t even noticed Sean. He just didn’t understand why Sean would be looking at Hank in any type of way. Hank shook his head at the other mutant, acting as though he was in the wrong for not knowing what the hell he was talking about, but Alex kept staring at him expectantly. Eventually, Hank sat up slowly in the bed to rest back against the headboard, dislodging himself from Alex’s arms. 

“He was jealous. He was staring at me like I was an asshole, he was clearly jealous that I was taking you back to my room.” Hank explained to him slowly as if he was talking to a child, making Alex pout at his tone, but his hurt was overpowered by the growing bewilderment. It didn’t make sense to Alex why Sean would be jealous, he had known the redhead for years and he couldn’t remember a single alpha that Sean had ever expressed interest for. Especially not Hank. Sean had never really expressed in anyone that they had known, he had always been more interested in video games and the cheap weed his cousin sold to him at the first of every month. That was just Sean. His best friend, surely, he would have told him if he liked Hank. They told each other everything, they always had ever since they got close.

Alex couldn’t help but let out his own scoff at the suggestion about Sean being into Hank, though it was far more amused than Hank’s had been, it was far more of a chuckle. It was just funny to hear. “I mean, you’re hot and all, but I never pegged you as being full of yourself. You’re not everyone’s type, McCoy, not everyone is falling all over themselves for you, you know.” Alex told him, shaking his head. He had never expected to have to tell Hank of all people, but he had never really expected to sleep with Hank either, so he supposed it was a day full of surprises. Yet, Hank’s own eyebrows furrowed at him in response and he stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Alex got ready to go on, but Hank interrupted his thoughts with one of his own.

“What are you talking about, Alex? I know Sean isn’t into me, he was jealous that I was able to take you back to my room,” Hank repeated himself and Alex felt like they were going in circles. Hank seemed to be still missing the point, but he didn’t get his chance to comment on that before Hank was speaking up again. “He was upset because he wanted to go back to your room with you instead. He’s into  _ you _ , Alex, not me.” Alex felt his confusion grow even more at the words, simply shaking his head at the suggestion. It was ridiculous, of course, there was no way Sean liked him. It was even less likely than Sean being into Hank was. They were close and friends, sure, but Sean couldn’t like Alex. Not like that anyway. 

“But Sean is an omega too, Hank.” Alex laughed humorlessly as he looked back at Hank, his expression like he was looking at an insane man. What Hank was suggesting was insane, but Hank was staring back at him with no indication of sarcasm on his face. He was staring at him completely seriously and that left Alex in a state of disbelief, shaking his head at the man. “I don’t know if you ever took a biology class, Hank, but omegas fall for alphas and alphas fall for omegas. They go for betas, at least, someone they can mate and have pups with. Omegas don’t go for other omegas and alphas don’t go for other alphas, we’re just not designed to be that way, you know?” Alex never thought he would have to explain basic biology to a grown man and certainly not a scientist, but Hank simply rolled his eyes at him. 

Hank shook his head at Alex, looking at him with an expression that Alex found hard to read. Though, he supposed he had never been great at reading Hank’s moods, but especially not now. “Some people are like that, though.” He argued quietly. “Think about Kitty and Piotr, they’re both alphas and they like one another.” And it was true enough. They weren’t exactly together, not officially, they had never confirmed anything. It was common knowledge that Piotr found Kitty beautiful and Kitty looked at him like he had hung the moon. Still, it was weird and they had never gotten together, Alex knew there was a reason for that. They just didn’t fit together right. Just like Sean and Alex himself didn’t fit right together, it was because they weren’t meant to be together. One day, both Piotr and Kitty would find nice omegas to settle down with, people they would actually go well with instead of one another. Sean would find an alpha.

“It’s just not natural, Hank!” Alex insisted, crinkling his nose at the thought. He couldn’t imagine himself with another omega, they were just so plain to him and they had the wrong parts for his liking. He couldn’t imagine why any respectable omega would go for another omega when they had so many good-looking alphas walking around the school. Maybe no alphas liked Sean, maybe the guy was just that desperate for someone else that he would take anyone he could get, even if it meant taking an omega. Or trying to, at least, Alex certainly didn’t return those kinds of feelings for Sean. Alex still couldn’t imagine himself getting desperate enough to pursue an omega, that was just plain embarrassing.

“Well, Sean  _ naturally  _ feels these kinds of things for you. Nothing else influenced it except for his own thoughts and feelings. So, there. It is natural. Science doesn’t exactly have an answer as to why some people are like this and some aren’t, but there’s nothing different about them except what they like.” Hank tried to reason with Alex calmly, though a tad upset by the man’s reaction to this. He thought maybe knowing science backed it up would ease Alex’s mind about it. It was just like a mutation on a very small scale, really, some people were just different. That difference didn’t make them weird or unacceptable, just different. He had expected Alex to take that fact better, he thought Alex would at least know that some people were attracted to the same biology as they were. Really, it made sense, he knew Alex had grown up in foster care and probably hadn’t been exposed to anyone like that. 

Alex had to roll his eyes when Hank immediately tried to educate him with science. It was Hank, of course, he was going to try and give him a science lesson while he was at it. “But they can’t have pups with people of the same-” Alex tried to argue with Hank, practically grasping for straws as he drew up reason after reason why it was weird. It just didn’t make any sense to Alex why anyone would choose to be that way when they didn’t have to be. With betas, it was more understandable, of course. They had little choice, most alphas didn’t take betas and certainly, no omegas willingly picked a beta if they had any other choice. His argument was deterred by Hank speaking back up, though, continuing to argue against him and he seemed to be getting more irritated with him by the second. 

“Enough, Alex!” Hank snapped at him, reaching his tipping point. The harsh tone made Alex whimper, irritation leaving his own face as he stared at Hank. “If you really care about Sean then you’ll try to understand that this wasn’t his choice, he didn’t get to choose to like omegas any more than you got to decide that you like alphas. You’ll let him down easy and you’ll let him know that you’ll always be here for him as his friend because he really does love you. He’s probably scared about his own feelings, okay? I can’t imagine it's been easy for him.” Hank sighed once he was done, shaking his head, upset that he had lost his temper with Alex in the first place. He was relieved when Alex gave him a small nod and the younger mutant wrapped his arms tightly around him. Hank hugged him back, cuddling close to him and nosing at his hair gently, murmuring a soft apology to the man. At least they were both on the same page now. 


End file.
